Guadalupe: A New Film

On December 1, 2006, a new feature film about Our Lady of Guadalupe will open on 200 screens in the United States. The film is entitled Guadalupe and is being released to coincide with the475th anniversaryof the miracle of Guadalupe when Mary appeared to the now St. Juan Diego and left her image on his cloak. I was priviledged to be invited to a conference at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico last week is on the history of the event in preparation for the release of the film. I will add more to this entry as soon as I transfer my pictures from my camera and write up my notes.

The film is produced by Dos Corazones Films (Mexico). It is in Spanish with English subtitles.

I learned so much during the one day conference. One of the most significant things is that the image of Guadalupe is of a pregnant Mary; that her image is of a young Jewish girl and she called herself “Guadalupe”, an Arabic name originating in Spain.

I am fascinated by the fact that two films about Mary are being released on December 1. The Nativity Story (New Line Cinema) is about the year before Jesus’ birth and Guadalupe tells the story of Mary’s appearance (as a pregnant mother-to-be of the Son of God) to a humble indiginous man in Mexico and the influence of this event on the lives of two brothers. The two films seem to be very compatible.

Here is a synopsis of the film from the publicity material:

500 years ago, a prophecy written in the book of Revelations came to be. A sign in the sky, a lady with the sun in her back, appeared before Juan Diego, a humble Indian learning the ways of Jesus, and in his “tilma” she left her image so people from all over would come to her to find comfort and support and her motherly embrace.

In that miracle image, two different cultures found common ground to work together and forge a nation, to create a future. Now, 500 years later, new facts are being discovered, and a new understanding of the message of Jesus is arising. It’s as if our Lady had left her images as a code that would speak to us through time.

In this movie, two Spanish brothers trying to understand the miracle of our Lady experience the miracle in their souls. As they go deeper and deeper, a feeling of conversion and reconciliation with God and themselves grows stronger.

It is a contemporary story of people who will go beyond scientific facts, to find the true meaning of life.

It is a story of personal struggle which will move the audience into seeking a more profound reflection of God through Our Lady of Guadalupe.